Individuals and relay teams place first in Juneau
Petersburg Swim and Dive team went north for the Juneau-Douglas Invitational last weekend and swam some great races with several best time performances.
“Our boys team continues to look strong and we should be in the running for region champs,” said Vikings Head Coach Andy Carlisle.
Friday's results placed the Petersburg boys in third place behind first place Sitka and second place Thunder Mountain. Saturday the Petersburg boys finished the meet as a team in second place behind Sitka.
“The lady vikings also swam well but our lack of numbers keeps us from scoring very high,” said Carlisle.
The ladies team finished in fourth both nights.
On Friday, Abel Aulbach took first place in the 50 yard freestyle, with a fast time of 22.5 seconds.
Aulbach also took first in the 100 yard freestyle, at 49.87.
The boys 100 yard butterfly was a close race with RJ Miller of Sitka taking first, but Evan Marsh of Petersburg barely one second slower with a time of 57.84 and Vince Kowalski taking third place right behind him at 58.73.
Viking Evan Marsh took first in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 56.74.
There were strong performances by Friday’s relay teams.
Evan Marsh, Skipper Erickson, Vince Kowalski and Abel Aulbach took second, behind Sitka, in the 200 yard medley relay, and Ben Zarlengo, Evan Marsh, Vince Kowalski and Able Aulbach took second in the 200 yard freestyle relay finishing a split second behind Sitka.
For the girls, Izabelle Ith had a third place finish in the 50 yard freestyle, and again in the 100 yard free with Shania Dahlberg coming in right behind her for fourth.
The best performances in Saturday's events included Vince Kowalski taking second in the 200 yard freestyle, less than a second behind Thunder Mountain's Kenny Fox.
Izabelle Ith took second in the 200 yard IM with Mariah Taylor finishing fourth in the same race.
Abe Aulbach grabbed a second place finish in the boys 200 yard IM.
Shania Dahlberg came in third in the 500 yard freestyle event.
In the girls 200 yard freestyle relay Shania Dahlberg, Masha Stelmach, Abigail Taylor and Izabelle Ith scored a third place finish.
The boys team of Evan Marsh, Vince Kowalski, Ben Zarlengo and Abel Aulbach beat out Sitka, Ketchikan and Juneau teams to take first place in the 200 yard freestyle relay.
Later, in an incredibly close contest in the 400 yard freestyle relay, the relay team of Skipper Erickson, Evan Marsh, Vince Kowalski and Abel Aulbach finished a fraction of a second behind Sitka for a second place time of 3:23.77.
The times are improving as the season progresses, and Petersburg swim fans will have a chance to see the exciting competition for themselves next weekend when Sitka and Juneau-Douglas come to town.